Chapter 470

Chapter 470: Can It Lead to Immortality?

"Oh, I almost forgot. You are merely a mortal and cannot perceive the information within the jade slip."

Ye Xu reacted swiftly. A wisp of magical power flew into Lu Chengfeng’s eyes. Divine patterns interwove within his pupils. As his gaze settled on the jade slip, he could instantly see through its surface and scan the information.

Lu Qing’s eyelids twitched almost imperceptibly.

Outsiders did not know, but he, as the steward of the Lu Family estate, understood very clearly.

Lu Chengfeng was the heir of the Lu Family head. Though born with crippled foundations, he was still deeply favored by the family head. Upon Lu Chengfeng resided a protective Great Dao imprint of the Lu Family head himself.

The fact that Ye Xu could effortlessly help Lu Chengfeng dispel the seal and open his heavenly eye without triggering the Lu Family head’s protective power indicated his strength was clearly above that of the Lu Family head.

It should be noted, the Lu Family head was a Dao Lord.

As Lu Chengfeng scanned the information, his body trembled slightly. "Is this the wonder of cultivation?"

However, the more he read and the more information he absorbed, the heavier his heart grew, feeling as if it were plummeting into an abyss, chilled to the bone.

But he possessed an unyielding will and considerable composure; none of this showed on his surface.

"I was not born crippled! Someone harmed me!"

Lu Chengfeng nearly ground his teeth to dust.

Over eight hundred years ago, before he was born, his mother, Yuan Ziying, was ambushed. While she escaped unharmed, the true target hadn’t been her, but Lu Chengfeng himself.

Lu Chengfeng had been implanted with the Demonic Seed of Doom.

Under its influence, Lu Chengfeng’s foundational dao was destroyed, his celestial blood was completely eroded, resulting in his descent into the world as a complete and utter cripple.

Even Ye Xu felt a flicker of sympathy.

The harm done to Lu Chengfeng was inevitably tied to conflicts within the Lu Family, possibly even reaching the Canglan Merchant Alliance itself.

"Steward Qing, you may leave now."

After a long while, Lu Chengfeng spoke.

His tone was firm, leaving no room for argument. It was a clear command.

"As you command."

Lu Qing’s expression flickered with a strange light, but as a servant, he had no choice but to obey Lu Chengfeng’s command.

"Senior, I beg you, please dismiss them as well," Lu Chengfeng requested.

Ye Xu understood immediately.

With a mere thought, Su Mu, the Formless Demon Lord, Yue Lingxi, and the others vanished into thin air.

Inside the Heaven’s Secret Pavilion, only Ye Xu and Lu Chengfeng remained.

"Senior," Lu Chengfeng declared, his voice taut, "I wish to know the full story. Who is truly behind harming me? Who tried to trap me in death? Who sought to cut off the lineage of the family head himself?"

He finally voiced the thoughts burning within him since the moment he saw the information on the jade slip. Knowing the immense gravity of the situation, he had dismissed Lu Qing and the others.

"System," Ye Xu asked internally, "how many Hongmeng points are required to query the causes and consequences of this matter?"

【One hundred and fifty Hongmeng points.】

"Young Master Lu, if you can produce two thousand source crystals, I will tell you the full story of this matter," Ye Xu laughed.

"Agreed!"

Without hesitation, Lu Chengfeng handed Ye Xu a Qian Kun Ring. "Senior, the items inside are easily worth two thousand source crystals."

"Exchange."

【Congratulations, Host. You have obtained two hundred and thirty Hongmeng points.】

"Investigate immediately!"

Ding!

Three breaths later.

Streams of information flooded Ye Xu’s mind.

His expression gradually turned peculiar.

As all knew, the Canglan Merchant Alliance was formed by six great families: the Lu Family at the forefront, followed by the Yuan Family, Qin Family, Luo Family, Shangguan Family, and Hong Family.

Lu Chengfeng’s mother, Yuan Ziying, hailed from the Yuan Family.

This union symbolized a formidable alliance.

Initially, Ye Xu assumed Lu Chengfeng’s poisoning was an internal power struggle within these families, vying for control of the Canglan Merchant Alliance. But upon uncovering the truth, the real mastermind came to light.

The Second Young Master!

One of the Nine Young Masters within the Hongmeng Dao Realm.

"Young Master Lu, this matter is complex. Allow me to explain gradually," Ye Xu spoke unhurriedly.

"Over eight hundred years ago, your mother had just conceived you when she learned of the Heaven-Earth Origin Fruit from the Lu Family’s Hall Master’s Elder. She journeyed to the Penglai Immortal Domain to obtain it, aiming to forge an unparalleled foundation for you."

Mentioning this, Ye Xu sighed deeply.

As a prominent family in the Hongmeng Dao Realm, the Lu Family held immense power. Even before Lu Chengfeng’s birth, he had been nourished with countless supreme treasures. His arrival was destined to crown him among Canglan Immortal Domain’s most exceptional talents.

Nevertheless.

En route to Penglai Immortal Domain, Yuan Ziying was ambushed by experts from the Qin and Luo families. Amidst this, the Xuan Du Ancient Immortal, dispatched by the Second Young Master, seized the chance to implant the Demonic Seed of Doom within her.

"The Second Young Master?"

Lu Chengfeng staggered as if struck.

The name of the Second Young Master thundered in his mind, the revelation staggering.

Never had he imagined the mastermind behind his damned fate, condemning him to a crippled existence, was the Second Young Master.

"The Demonic Seed of Doom dissolves upon entering the body—rootless and traceless," Ye Xu stated lightly. "Thus, even your Lu Family’s Ancestor, Lu Xuanyin, could uncover no trace of it."

"Had events unfolded naturally, you would have perished without doubt."

"Yet, Lu Xuanyin leveraged her profound cultivation to forcibly preserve your life, granting you a chance to enter this world."

"Even so, the Demonic Seed’s power had seeped into your bones and blood, irreversible. Though you were born, the path of cultivation—and immortality—remained forever barred to you."

Lu Chengfeng’s mind was violently shaken, and a mouthful of fresh blood sprayed from his lips.

His disheveled white hair swayed wildly, his expression utterly dejected.

"Young Master…" Lu Chengfeng’s eyes blazed with fury; his hatred and killing intent could not be cleansed even by pouring out all the waters of the Heavenly River.

"The Hall Master’s Elder… he must be involved too?"

Suddenly, Lu Chengfeng lifted his head, staring directly at Ye Xu.

Ye Xu gave a slight nod.

The news of the Heaven and Earth Returning Origin Fruit had been delivered to Yuan Ziying by the Lu Family’s Elder. Were it not for the Lu Family’s Hall Master’s Elder, Yuan Ziying would not have left the Lu Family for the Penglai Immortal Domain.

Thus, she would not have fallen into the ambush laid by the experts of the Qin and Luo families and the Xuan Du Ancient Immortal.

"Should I die, or should I become a useless person… then only Lu Shenyang, the great-grandson of the Hall Master’s Elder, would be able to inherit the future position of head of the Lu Family."

Lu Chengfeng, a man of supreme intelligence, pieced together the scheme nearly immediately.

"Now, with the Qin and Luo families already submitting to the Second Young Master, and my Lu Family slowly being consumed… once he gains control of all three great families, the Second Young Master’s power would allow him to easily dominate the Canglan Merchant Alliance."

"What an impeccable scheme!"

A ghastly smile twisted Lu Chengfeng’s lips.

As the Young Master of the Lu Family, he was merely a pawn.

A thoughtful expression crossed Ye Xu’s face.

From the information provided by the system, he could glean some insight.

The forces of the Second Young Master, and indeed the Nine Young Masters of the Hongmeng Dao Realm, were not omnipotent. Factions like the Canglan Merchant Alliance could still rival the Second Young Master.

To subdue the Canglan Merchant Alliance, they needed to be divided and conquered piece by piece.

"These figures," Ye Xu thought to himself, "after all, are only at the Dao Lord level of cultivation. The true masterminds pulling the strings behind the scenes are likely ancient old monsters at the Dao Sovereign level."

He hadn’t expected to hear the name of an "acquaintance," the Xuan Du Ancient Immortal, quite so swiftly.

"What should I do?"

Lu Chengfeng’s expression was grave.

Even though he had unraveled the Second Young Master’s scheme, he possessed no power to reverse the situation.

Because.

He truly was a wastrel.

The vast Lu Family could not be left without a successor.

Among the current Lu Family’s younger generation, the most outstanding figure was Lu Shenyang, who had already attained the level of Sovereign of the World, possessing a boundless future.

"Senior, what should I do?"

Lu Chengfeng turned his burning gaze towards Ye Xu. "Senior, you deduced everything, omniscient and omnipotent. Surely you possess a method to save the Lu Family! I implore you, Senior, save the Lu Family!"

"To save or not to save the Lu Family is your affair."

Ye Xu chuckled. "Young Master Lu… do you not wish to cultivate?"

"Cultivate?"

A self-deprecating smile touched Lu Chengfeng’s lips. "I was born with a ruined constitution. Even swallowing Immortal Elixirs daily, I can only live to nine hundred years."

"In just over sixty years… my time of fate will arrive…"

Shua!

Suddenly.

Lu Chengfeng’s eyes shone like twin suns, radiating an intimidating divine light. "Senior… you mean to say… I can cultivate?"

Ye Xu nodded.

What difference did an inborn ruined constitution make? Within Heaven’s Secret Pavilion, accomplishing the near impossible was routine.

"Dare I ask, Senior," Lu Chengfeng’s voice turned solemn, tinged with urgency, "if I cultivate… can I attain prolonged existence?"

The long life. It was the greatest obsession of his life.

"If one cannot attain longevity," Ye Xiu said nonchalantly, "what meaning is there in cultivation?"

"Then…"

Lu Chengfeng forcibly suppressed his surging emotions, his eyes fixed unwaveringly on Ye Xu, a mix of extreme anxiety and desperate hope coloring his tone. "Please, Senior… name your price!"